Gas Consumption

[ed_o_brain]

Over 6 weeks we have, apparently, used 7000 kWh of gas resulting in a bill of £300.
£50 per week?

I think off the meter this reads about about 200 units. In the last 7 days, since the meter was read, we have only used twenty units and it's not exactly been warm.

Is it even remotely likely that we have used 7 kW of gas an average each hour during a six week period? Our house is a 3 bed semi of conventional build. We do leave the heating on constant, heating the house to 18ºC. It's a traditional central heating system.

Our old house was bigger, uninsulated and draughty yet we never got a heating bill like this one. The meter readings look okay.

Is there any recourse to the letting agent? According to the energy rating certificate the house is rated at 324 kwh/m2 per year. Clearly we seem to be using a lot more than that.

Thanks
Daniel

[rogerzilla]

We turn ours off at night, and during the day when possible.  What sort of boiler do you have?  A non-condensing one can be quite gas-hungry.

[andygates]

Coldest winter evar.  Letting agent will remind you of that!

Is it your first winter in the place?

[mrcharly-YHT]

So the agent took a meter reading before you moved in, and according to that you used 200 units in 6 weeks (36 units per week). Since then you've kept an eye on the meter and used 20 units?

Sounds like the original meter reading was wrong. Dunno about any recourse. Rule one of renting - read meters yourself.

Ask the gas company for the date of the last meter reading. It might have been when the previous tenant moved out, and not when you moved in.  If so, you shouldn't be paying for the interim.

[ed_o_brain]

Aye 'zilla, it is a non-condensing boiler of ye older type. We only moved in during January.
£50 a week for Gas does seem a good chunk of wedge.

We always get more snow and harder frosts than those living further down the hill, so no doubt that's a contributory factor to.

I took a meter reading when we moved in and although it's not been noted on the bill, it's only 22 units difference. So that will mean a £30 reduction when EDF update their records.

I only asked about recourse in respect that the heating is possibly far less efficient than the energy efficiency certificate we have suggests.

[urban_biker]

200 units is approx 6303kwH. There should be a formula on your bill that allows you to calculate this. Your formula may give a slightly differnt result depending on the calorific value of the gas you are using.

According to what I am being charged at eon that would cost me £298 minus a 10% discount for dual fuel and internet payment.

So basically so long as you actually *have* used 200 units then the price is about right. As others have said - how sure are you of the initial reading?

Just to compare - I used around 398 units of gas last year in a 4 bedroomed house with some loft insulation.  So 200 units is possible in a smaller place if you kept it very warm and it is very poorly insulated.

[rogerzilla]

£50 a week is bang on for an old boiler and a poorly insulated house.  Gas consumption in summer is negligible (heating the water uses very little according to our bills) and you won't use anything like as much outside Dec-Feb, so this indicates an average bill of about £900 a year.

[Pancho]

Sounds reasonable to me. Old boilers and draughty houses burn through gas at a hell of a rate.

I had the meter read yesterday and the bill is going to be eyewatering.

[campagman]

Keep a close eye on your meter readings. In a previous house I had a meter that gave incorrect readings. I reported it to the gas board and they sorted it out without problem.

[Kim]

Are you absolutely sure there isn't a cubic metres / cubic feet discrepancy between the meter and what they're billing you in?  It's a not entirely uncommon cockup...

[DrMekon]

That sounds like a lot to me. We're in a 60's 3bed, on gas bottles as there is no mains here, and have "only" done £195 in the last 6-8 weeks. Got baby in the house, so keeping the temp at 17-19c during the day, 17 at night. We moved in early in the summer, and did £90 in the first 6 months.

[Jacomus]

Our electricity meter is an old dial one.

One of the dials doesn't turn fast enough and when we read it, left us with a massive bill. There was no way we had used that much power and got npower out to read it. They said "oh yeah, the dial isn't working properly, you have to read this one as the marker behind it. It isn't out enough for us to replace it."

Maybe this is something to think about?

[oncemore]

In an old poorly insulated house (solid brick walls etc) with an ancient boiler our combined gas and electric (and we use little of the latter) is 1500 quid p.a. - so at a guess at least 50 quid a week in winter. Last 2 months probably 75-100 a week.

[ed_o_brain]

We do have a ghastly inefficient boiler:

http://www.boiler-scrappage.info/?namedboiler=649&boilername=Potterton%20International%20Heating%20Kingfisher%202%20rs50


So we are keeping all the doors in the house shut. The curtains drawn on the non-double glazed window in the living room. Need to think about some of that cling film type secondary glazing you can get for it, but it's about six foot high by about five foot wide!

I'm trying to get the heating time to work so it's not on constant. (But with a fairly new baby it needs to be on most of the time anyway). I've turned the thermostat down a little bit. And I've turned the nob on the boiler so it's no on full blast. Going to try and get a curtain to go behind the front door.

The loft could do with more insulation.

And I've just piled a load of stuff onto the 'bay. (Items we were intending to sell anyway)

[rafletcher]

For comparison, in the summer we use 5 "units" of gas a week, currently we're using nearer 50.  1860's 2 up 2 down solid walled end of terrace farm cottage, condensing boiler, double glazed, some loft insulation.  Annual gas bill of the order of £500. We cook electric and use gas for no other reason.

[ed_o_brain]

Heating off for four hours last night. House was still freezing cold a couple of hours after it came back on. Brrrr.

It's only going to be fifty pounds to top-up the existing loft insulation with some more (170mm thick) from B&Q. I have some reserved for collection tomorrow.

[rafletcher]

Sounds like your radiators aren't too efficient either - and being  rented property not a lot you can do to improve them sadly.

[Jacomus]

We have just had a bill for 12 months gas... £231.30

Ouchie! 

[Sergeant Pluck]

If you are with nPower it is most certainly worth keeping a close eye on what they are up to - I've switched to another supplier and I've just been "negotiating" my final bill with nPower. Despite being supplied with readings on request, they have ignored these, as presumably they are not to their liking, and billed me according to an estimate that is about 100% out.